Transcript: Health Care Debate

Nov. 22, 2009

Page 7 of 17

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: As a breast cancer survivor, I came out against
these -- these recommendations. Every major cancer organization has
come out against these recommendations. The task force language in that
bill actually makes sure that prevention -- preventive services like
mammograms and colonoscopies and other cancer screenings would be free.
The task force recommendations -- the language in the bill...

(CROSSTALK)

STEPHANOPOULOS: Well, Debbie, let me -- let me clarify this...

(CROSSTALK)

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: ... that even more women would get access to...

(CROSSTALK)

STEPHANOPOULOS: Excuse me for a second. That -- that is true. But
let me clarify a little bit, because under the -- the bill -- and we
have -- we have the language, as well. It says that a group health plan
and health insurance issuer offering the group (ph) shall provide
coverage, but only under -- if the Preventive Services Task Force rates
it as an A or B.

BLACKBURN: That's right.

STEPHANOPOULOS: And, actually, under the -- under the task force,
they said that these mammograms for women 40 to 50 is rated C. So they
actually wouldn't be covered. So you have a great expansion for a broad
part of the population, but actually, these guidelines would be
controlling for ages 40 or 50.

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: They aren't going to be -- they aren't going to
be binding. They're recommendations.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Well, but the language here says they...

(CROSSTALK)

COBURN: Here's the question. Here's the question we ought to be
asking. Do these recommendations make sense from a cost standpoint?
Absolutely, from a cost standpoint, they're right. You look at the
statistical analysis, they make sense.

From a patient standpoint, they're atrocious. And that's the
problem with a bureaucracy stepping between a physician and their patient.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Can you weigh in on this?

NELSON: Well, absolutely. I -- I worry about a government-run plan
that would be subject to recommendations that might be applied
universally without respect to patients. I am concerned about that, not
that you can't fix some of those concerns, but you can't fix every one
of them, and I am concerned that if it's -- if it's turned over -- look,
the insurance industry has its own challenges. And -- and many of those
can be handled with transparency and by eliminating pre-existing
conditions and rescissions and rating based on health and some of the
other ratings -- gender ratings.

But -- but we're not going to -- if we can keep as much of it at the
state level is as possible, you've got -- you've got patient's bill of
rights, you've got all kinds of mandated coverages, and -- and this can
be handled on a state-by-state basis. It gets lost in Washington in a
big government-run plan, and I don't know what happens.

STEPHANOPOULOS: But if you don't have these kind of guidelines, how
are you going to get the cost control you were talking about 10 minutes
ago?

NELSON: Well, I don't mind guidelines and recommendations, but I
don't want them to become the equivalent of rules and law.